


Burn Notice

by kuresoto



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Spies & Secret Agents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-02-04 06:41:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12765294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuresoto/pseuds/kuresoto
Summary: She went by Rey. Just Rey.Depending on the mission, she could be Kenobi or Palpatine, but for all he knew, she had no last name. She constantly labelled herself as no one. To others, she was someone. To him, she was everything.-Being personally recruited by Rey, codename H2, six years ago, there was no one he trusted more than her. When a burn notice is issued against her, Ben, now the Quartermaster for The Resistance, doesn’t believe it for a second. However, there’s more than meets the eye when O, the leader of The Resistance, presses a note into his hands.Do not get caught. The Resistance is being watched. You’re on your own. Kylo Ren.SPY AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my submission for [Reylofest 2017](http://reylofest.tumblr.com/)! Thank you to the mods for organising the event! You can find the pdf of the first volume [here](http://reylofest.tumblr.com/post/167652003583/ladies-and-gentlemen-noble-reylos-of-all-ages), for anyone interested :)
> 
> Thank you to politicalmamaduck for beta-ing my fic! ♥
> 
>  
> 
> [Like always, I've made an aesthetic/gif set for my fic :3](http://kuresoto.tumblr.com/post/167253972243/reylo-spy-au-for-reylofest-she-went-by-rey)

 

Bullets pierced through the door, narrowly missing him as he leapt aside. He looked around wildly, trying to find a way to escape the room in which he found himself. Admittedly, he wasn’t thinking when he dove into a random room, but it was hard to think straight when being interrogated and tortured. He certainly wouldn't have chosen a room that was on the second level with no windows from which to escape. No, instead he found himself in exactly that: in a study lined with rows and rows of books and a large desk in the middle. Nothing else.

He spun around, the ends of his once crisp jacket lifting up to reveal blood stains on his crumpled white shirt - blood that didn’t belong to him. The same sticky red fluid was smeared over the gun he held in his hands, something he barely noticed as he swiped at the sweat that painted his brow. The shooting on the other side of the door subsided, only to be replaced by loud thumping and angry yells belonging to the remaining guards he escaped.

The loud cracks in the door only made him look for an exit more desperately. “Shit! Shit, shit, shit,” he muttered as he slammed himself against a bookshelf, his trembling hands fumbling against the books in hopes to find some secret passage. Along one of the wooden panels was a slight indentation in the shape of a circle with an odd pattern. He squinted at the markings and realised it looked familiar. He reached in and pulled his necklace from under his shirt, inspecting the circular disk against the wall. Slowly, he lowered the pendant, feeling a sort of magnetised attraction under his fingers.

 _Click_.

“Well, fuck,” he said when a bookshelf moved aside, revealing a secret passageway. “I didn’t think that would work.” Without wasting time, he jumped into the darkened hallway and moved the bookshelf back to its rightful place, concealing himself just as the study door broke down. He held his breath and didn’t dare move a muscle, listening closely to what was happening on the opposite side.

There was heavy stomping with a scream of rage. “Where the _fuck_ did he go?!”

“Dunno, but the boss isn’t going to be happy.”

“Fuck, we need to find him! You three! Sweep the halls in case he went through the vents or some shit. You, stay here in case he reappears while I try and explain how his highly skilled men couldn’t keep track of _one person_. This Kylo Ren guy is starting piss me _the fuck off_!”

There was some shuffling inside the study before the sound of fading footsteps met his ears. He blew a sigh of relief and relaxed against the wall of a dark hallway. From what he could see in the minimal lighting, it looked to be a cold and decrepit hallway, most likely unknown to the occupants of the house.

As he moved down the unknown hallway as quietly as possible, the sting of his cheek kept reminding him of what had transpired earlier that day, and of how spectacularly south things had gone. He certainly hadn’t expected to find her so quickly, much less be on the receiving end of her fist.

-

She went by Rey. Just Rey.

Depending on the mission, she could be Kenobi or Palpatine, but for all he knew, she had no last name. She constantly labelled herself as no one. To others, she was someone. To him, she was everything.

Her codename was H2, short for Hellhound Two, used by everyone during work hours. Not many had the courage to use her given name casually. She was part of a small team, a group of spies that were legendary amongst analysts and desk jockeys. They were worlds apart and yet, she always greeted him with familiarity, smile reaching her eyes as she waited for whatever gadgets he had ready for her.

“They have fingerprint recognition so only you or your partner, FN-2187, are able to use them, in case they falls into the wrong hands,” he said, silently sliding the guns over the velvet covered table, back upright with stiff shoulders.

Heat crept up his neck at her next comment. “You always know what I like best, Ben,” Rey said, holstering the weapon before passing two to the dark man next to her.

“H2, you have to be careful or O might hear you,” FN-2187 warned.

Rey snorted and brushed him off. “There’s no reason to be so strict here. When we’re in the field, that’s different, but for now, it’s easier to call you Finn.” Suddenly, she turned to Ben. “Isn’t that right, Ben?”

“I much prefer to refer to you as H2, especially before a mission,” Ben finished hurriedly, not wanting to get caught up in the disagreement between the two agents.

Finn threw him a thankful look. “See, Q knows what’s appropriate for work.”

“Q is short for Quartermaster, which is not Ben’s name. It’s his title,” Rey said.

“And calling him Ben is not appropriate, given how sensitive our line of work is. Sorry,” Finn apologised quickly. “But you know what I mean. If we let your name slip and someone hears...”

Ben, the Quartermaster for The Resistance, a sector of the Secret Intelligence Service of the New Republic, tilted his head slightly. “No need to apologise. FN-2187 has a point, H2.”

At the mention of their work, much less what could happen if their enemies found out the identity of the genius responsible for The Resistance’s weapons and gadgets alike, Rey sighed in defeat. “Very well, Q. FN-2187, let’s get this over and done with.”

As the pair slung black backpacks over their shoulders, Rey threw a wink at Ben before heading out. A small pout curled on her lips when Ben stared back at her with a passive face.

Once the agents left his personal lab at the Resistance headquarters, Ben blew out a long sigh and let his shoulders sag. He really hated being put on the spot when Rey visited before missions. They were both on the clock and couldn’t afford to be so friendly. His eyes slid to his computer screen, playing the black and white footage linked to the hallway cameras. Rey and Finn were deep in conversation, most probably about the assignment they were about to start. Ben’s hands busied themselves with packing up any leftover weapons that weren’t needed, his eyes still focused on the small woman with her hair up in a tight bun.

“Save travels, Rey,” he whispered before he turned away to pack his devices.

-

“I’m home,” he called out, dropping his keys into the bowl by the door. Most lights were off inside his apartment, save for the kitchen that was at the end of the hall. He quickly checked his watch with raised brows, not realising how late it was. “Luke?”

“In here, Ben.”

Upon entering the kitchen, Ben saw Luke busily tapping away at his laptop with a thick stack of papers and a cup of tea next to him. “It’s late. I didn’t think you would still be awake.”

Luke peered over his glasses. “Well, I didn’t think you would be at work until 1am.”

Shrugging out of his coat and draping it over the chair across from Luke, Ben went to the fridge to get a bottle of beer. “Yeah, I didn’t think I would be too,” he muttered, taking a swig from his bottle. He knew it was unlikely, what with missions taking longer than expected sometimes, but he had hoped that Rey would be back before the night was out. He forced himself to socialise with the night crew, but when midnight came and went with no word from Rey, even Ben knew he had to call it a night. He was still expected to work in the morning, and he had a meeting with O to prepare for. “Last minute work came up,” he said lamely.

“What kind of bank has you working this late?” Luke fixed him with a look, taking in the suit that he always wore to work.

Ben leaned against the fridge, one hand buried in his pants pocket and the other cradling his beer. “The one where I have to be in a meeting tomorrow and forgot about something I had to include in my report.” Luke hummed, losing interest, and turned back to his work. Ben came up behind him and took a paper from the top of the pile, skimming the heading along with a the first few paragraphs. “Heavy stuff to be marking this late at night.”

“For you, maybe,” Luke said, tapping his pen against his stack of papers. “Remember when you used to panic about these topics when you were still studying?”

Ben scoffed. “That was a long time ago. I don’t stress about that stuff anymore.”

“No, you don’t, since you waste your engineering degree at some bank.”

“Yeah, I know, I know,” said Ben, waving around his beer offhandedly. “But if a job came up right when you finished studying and it paid that much, you would have taken it too.”

“A job did come up when I finished, probably double the amount you're earning, but I stayed with my studies-”

“-And became a decorated Physics professor, I know, Luke, but we can't all be like you,” Ben finished, collapsing in the other chair at the dining table with a sigh.

“Is there something on your mind, Ben?” Luke asked suddenly. “Feeling dissatisfied with your job perhaps?”

“No, it's not that,” Ben said absentmindedly as he took out his phone to check the time, a habit he couldn’t seem to break despite having a watch. He noted that his lock screen was still void of any messages.

“A girl, perhaps?”

Ben jerked at the question. “What?”  

“Have a girl on your mind?” Luke asked again.

An image of Rey swam into the forefront of his mind. It was the very first time he met her. She wore a dark pantsuit, making either him look very out of place with his track pants and loose tee, or her look very overdressed. Her mouth was in a straight line with a no nonsense vibe about her, but the smile that blossomed across her face when he agreed to work for The Resistance was something he’d never forget. It was like she was relieved and genuinely happy for him, but that was Rey. Or so he kept telling himself.

With the cherished memory dancing behind his eyes, Ben chuckled softly, taking a swig of his beer. “It’s complicated.”

That got Luke’s attention. “So there is someone,” he commented, leaning back on his chair to survey the other man properly.

“No!” Ben corrected himself. “No, there really isn’t. There’s a strict no dating policy at work so it’s useless to even entertain the idea.”

“Ben, you’re thirty-six. You dated a bit when you were younger, but not since you started that job. It’s been five years, right? No job is that important to put your own happiness on hold. And with your work hours, you barely have time for yourself.”

“Oh, like you’re one to talk? You don’t need to worry about having children since you have me, but I’ve never seen you date anyone. You’re not getting younger either, Luke.”

“Well, I guess we’re on the same boat then. Both of us too involved with our jobs to really find anyone appropriate. Hey, maybe we can do some double dates together,” Luke suggested with a grin that Ben couldn’t take seriously.

“Urgh, hard pass.” Ben quickly finished his beer and left his empty bottle on the counter. “I may call you Luke, but you’re still my dad, even if you’re my foster dad.”

As Ben busied himself with gathering his coat and backpack he had dumped on the floor earlier, Luke chortled and resumed his marking. “Well, the offer still stands, kid.”

Ben rolled his eyes. Stopping at the place where a small pile of papers sat, he quickly glimpsed over the paper at the top of the ‘marked’ pile. “You should look at the middle section again. You might have missed something,” he said, brushing past his dad without another word.

-

The meeting with O went smoothly, with Ben proposing new inventions for the agency as well as submitting his budget report for that quarter. As he sat at the other side of her desk, Ben forced his hands to remain still in his lap, waiting for any response from the head of The Resistance. She was an older woman with greying hair in a tight bun and years of experience on her face, though whether from being in the field or behind the desk, he did not know. There wasn’t much he knew about the head of The Resistance, only that she had run the agency for the past forty years. Hell, he wasn’t even sure what her real name was. He heard Rey address her as ‘Leia’ one time, but having nowhere near her level of clearance, Ben left it as O. He wasn’t going to ask his boss her life story any time soon.

“It looks good, as usual, Q,” she said, snapping the manilla folder closed and sliding it back across the table. “I’ll submit the changes to accounting and get your budget authorised.”

“Thank you,” Ben said, taking back his file and standing up to excuse himself.

“Q, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”

Stopping his movements, Ben raised a brow and waited for her to continue.

Hands folded on top of the desk, O looked at him in the eye and asked, “Security mentioned that you didn’t leave the office until late last night. Now, I know how close you are to H2, but I need to know: is there anything going on?”

“No!” Ben tried his darndest to calm his heart, but being interrogated on his ever growing crush was the last thing he expected that morning. “No, ma’am. We’re just friends. Afterall, H2 recruited me and was my first contact with the agency.”

Satisfied with his answer, O relaxed in her seat. “Very well.”

Knowing a dismissal when he heard one, Ben didn’t waste any time putting space between them. Just as he placed his hand on the doorknob, he stopped, back still facing her. “Have you heard anything from H2 or FN-2187, by any chance?”

“No, nothing yet.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Ben said, hand now gripped tightly around the doorknob as he stared intently at the grains of wood that made her office door. He tilted his head down slightly and exited, not daring to look back at O.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe, I was really tempted to say 'oh, she could be a Skywalker or Solo', but I actually need those last names for plot points later r.i.p 
> 
> Thank you for reading and feel free to leave a comment! I'd love to know what you thought! :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you again to alexandra for le beta :3 and thank you to everyone who has read and left comments! ♥

With a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, Ben soldered wires in the solitude of his own personal lab. Tinkering with new inventions always helped take his mind off the worst case scenarios that floated in his mind. He knew that there was next to no reason to worry for any agent’s safety; everyone within the agency was adequately trained, himself included, but whether it was a gut feeling or just his imagination, it would distract him for hours on end.

It had been a few days since he last saw FN-2187 or H2, his stomach doing a flip at the thought of the latter. He refused to acknowledge his interest in H2 whilst at work, only recently able to admit it to himself in private. It was completely normal, he kept telling himself, to be attached to her. Afterall, she recruited him a few weeks before he received his engineering degree, and helped him transition into the agency. Not to mention, she also helped put his worries at ease during the vetting process, training him in her spare time and quizzing him on different terminology.

Ben exhaled through his nose, a smile spreading on his face naturally as he remembered how he first met H2. Rey. She introduced herself as Rey back then. She always let him call her Rey until he realised how inappropriate it was, especially with her rank.

H2, The Resistance’s top case officer for ten years, was personally recruited and trained by The Resistance’s best at the time, codename The Smuggler. From what Ben had read during his early months of training, The Smuggler was one of the Resistance’s first officers, the best of the best with a roguish way of getting things done. That was, until he went missing in action five years ago. Ben was recruited not long after his disappearance, with many personnel assuming that he was next in line to be The Resistance’s next top officer. That was until he was announced as the new Quartermaster, as the previous Q retired years prior and the agency needed new equipment. He had entertained the idea of becoming a field agent, but after being rejected twice, he resigned himself to his current role.

However, he was content with his rank and status among the agency. Not many field officers stayed behind after briefings to talk to him, only H2 and officers of similar ranks. That suited him fine, not always thrilled with copious amounts of socialising that inevitably became redundant in his opinion. He was like that during his youth and university days, always keeping to himself like his foster father.

Speaking of which, he was extremely grateful for Luke not bringing up the ‘mysterious girl’ in the subsequent days. Then again, their paths rarely crossed these days, both busy with their own respective jobs.

Putting his musings to rest, Ben finished up his current project’s wiring . Before he could clean up his work station, another agent poked their head in and interrupted him.

“Q, aren’t you coming?”

It was Poe, formally known as X-wing, another one of the few officers with whom he had spoken, albeit not as often as Rey or Finn. “Going where?” Ben asked.

“Infirmary. FN-2187 has returned. I thought you would be one of the first to know.”

Ben merely stood numbly, hands still clutching his wire strippers and tape. “They’re back?”

A look of unease crossed Poe’s face. “Well, FN-2187 is. No word about H2,” he said, as if worried about giving such information away.

Poe stared at Ben longer than he was comfortable with, but Ben’s deadpan face gave nothing away. “When did he get back?”

“An hour ago. Come on,” he said insistently.

The trip down to the infirmary was a blur, his head too busy going over every reason for Finn’s return but not Rey’s. By the time the pair arrived at the large opaque glass doors, Ben’s hands were clenching and unclenching at his sides from nervous energy.

By all appearances, FN-2187 looked perfectly fine. A bit of a scratch on his forehead, but nothing significant. The doctor was by his side, shining a penlight between Finn’s eyes.

“Everything good?” Poe asked.

“Yes,” the doctor said. “We’re just finishing his post-op. He should be cleared to leave in a few minutes. I just need to get some paperwork. Excuse me.”

Once the doctor left the three, Ben couldn’t contain his questions. “H2 didn’t return?” he asked as nonchalant as possible.

“She’ll be back soon. We had to split up because our mission went south pretty fast,” Finn explained, taking a sip of water the doctor left behind.

Poe held up his hand suddenly. “Wait, wasn’t it meant to be a routine surveillance?”

“Yeah, that was the plan, but it didn’t feel right from the get go. I don’t know, it was like they were expecting us. H2 stayed behind-”

“What?” Ben hissed, fists clenched by his sides. “You said that you split up. Why is she staying behind?”

“We _did_ split up,” Finn insisted, bristling at the hostility from Ben. “We couldn’t make our way back at the same time or else it would look suspicious, so we split up. We agreed that I’d take the first plane back to D’Qar and she would get the next one. She’s scheduled to get back tomorrow.” Ben calmed down and apologised from his rudeness. “It’s okay. I _understand_.”

Whether Finn meant anything by emphasising the last word or not, Ben didn’t stick around to find out. He returned to his lab and hastily grabbed items from his shelves and dumped them on the counter top. He didn’t even know what he was doing or building, all he knew was that he had to occupy his mind until he could see Rey for himself and know that she was safe.

Anyone who walked past his lab that day would have common sense to avoid the Quartermaster. His usual tidy and pristine lab had objects strewn across the floor. Papers were littered everywhere and various contraptions, each at different stages of development, sat on any available surface of his white room. Anyone who lingered too long outside would get a deathly glare and a curt “What?”, his voice muffled through the clear glass doors. No one dared to disturb him, not until O made an appearance.

“Q,” she said as she stepped into his personal lab, careful not to slip on any papers. “What are you doing?”

Ben straightened up and bowed his head lightly. If it was anyone else, he would have made an acerbic remark to get them to leave, but he had the common sense not to anger O. “I am just going through my inventory and cleaning up any experiments that have sat around too long.”

“I’ve received complaints about your behaviour today.”

“Apologies, ma’am. I’m just extremely busy and wish not to be disturbed.” He knew it was a lie, and he was pretty sure that she knew that too. O _knew_ things.

“It doesn’t have to do with a certain officer who hasn’t reported back yet?” she asked lightly, as if she didn’t just hit the nail on the head.

“No, ma’am. I’m just busy.”

The pair stared at each other, neither believing the blatant lies coming from Ben’s mouth. Finally after a long stretch of silence, O broke away with a sigh. “Remember what we discussed, Q. There is a reason why interpersonal relationships aren’t encouraged here.”

Ben didn’t reply, merely looking at the spot where she stood as she saw herself out.

-

He didn’t sleep that night, but thankfully, it didn’t show the next day. If his eyes looked slightly bloodshot, they were hidden behind the safety of his glasses. His dark hair was tucked behind his ears like normal, every strand in place as he fixed the collar of his checkered shirt under his dark blue sweater. He trotted down the stairs of his apartment to the kitchen, surprised to see Luke still at home. “I thought you would be at work already.”

Luke looked up from his cereal and nodded at the television. “There’s been an accident, so classes have been cancelled.”

Ben plucked a banana from the fruitbowl and leaned against the counter, joining Luke in watching the morning news.

“ _The body with a gunshot wound was found in the early hours of the morning by a passing jogger. The victim has been identified as Yolo Ziff. If you have any information involving the murder, police encourage you to come forward._ ”

The banana remained half eaten in his hand, long forgotten as he blanked out everything that was happening around him. Yolo Ziff was part of Poe’s group of field officers, still early in his training and currently assigned to do dead drops. Dead drop zones were all over various cities like D’Qar, Hosnian, and Coruscant, so it wouldn’t be surprising for one to be outside the University of Corellia, where Luke taught. Even though their line of work was in the high risk category, there hadn’t been a death at the agency since The Smuggler disappeared, and even he was missing in action rather than confirmed dead.

“Ben? Ben, are you listening?”

“Huh, what?”

Luke regarded him suspiciously. “I was saying that it was a good thing the body wasn’t discovered in the middle of day. It’s almost finals and the crime scene would have definitely been compromised if a hoard of students stumbled upon it.”

Luke’s offhand comment fell on deaf ears, Ben merely nodding, but not paying attention. He remained much the same, not remembering leaving the house or his commute to work. As expected, the atmosphere was heavy when he got to work. Everyone he passed in the halls was quiet with sadness. He dropped in his seat with a long sigh, only to jump out of his chair and stride through the halls with intent.

He found Poe talking to Finn in the cafeteria. “X-wing,” he said, awkwardly standing off to the side. “I heard about Ziff.”

With his elbows propped against the table, Poe turned to Ben and gave him a weak smile. “Thanks, Q. It’s just a shock.”

Ben slid into the seat next to him and nodded to Finn. “Do we know anything about who killed him?”

“Nothing. It was a clean kill, so at least I know Ziff didn’t suffer.”

“If it was clean, then it was probably professional,” Finn said, with Poe nodding in agreement.

Poe groaned in frustration and ruffled his hair. “He wasn’t even meant to do that last drop. We had postponed it last minute. He should have gotten the message!”

“I guess this is where the cliche comes in,” Ben said, taking a slice of toast from Finn’s plate after he realised he hadn’t finished his breakfast properly before coming to work. “Maybe some evil organisation coming after us.”

He was reaching for a bit of Poe’s muesli when O’s secretary rushed in and whispered in his ear, “Sorry to disturb you, but O would like to see you urgently, Q.”

That had never happened before, but then again, the list of things that were unlikely to occur and yet happening was slowly getting longer. He quickly excused himself and followed O’s assistant. He normally tuned out all conversation when he strode through the halls, not being particularly interested in gossip, but one whisper caught his attention.

“ _A mole_.”

Was it that? Did O suspect he was a mole? Impossible. Maybe she was worried that someone had hacked their system? Ben mentally went over his previous day, noting that he had indeed logged off from his computer before leaving for the day.

“You wanted to see me?” Ben asked once alone with O.

O looked regarded him seriously and said, “As you may know already, Officer Yolo Ziff was killed earlier this morning.”

“Yes, I spoke to X-wing before coming here. He mentioned that Ziff wasn’t even meant to be there this morning, that his assignment had been postponed,” said Ben.

“Yes, that is correct. The dead drops allocated for Ziff were decoy ones, merely part of his training with no real consequence outside the agency. His training schedule is only located on the databases within The Resistance, nowhere else. Are you following me so far?”

“Yes, ma’am, but I’m unsure what you are trying to say. Do you think that I’ve somehow leaked information to someone?” Ben asked incredulously.

“Oh, no. Not at all, Q. You are the best Quartermaster we’ve ever had. There’s no way you would be sloppy enough to let such a thing happen. In fact, I remember that you helped design and update the firewalls for The Resistance.” Ben nodded and O continued. “All staff have checked in and been accounted for. All but one.”

He became numb at her words. Tingles ran up his spine when she placed her hands, clasped, on the table that separated them, and soaked in the tension that bathed the room.

“I’m going to have to ask you questions in relation to H2,” said O, watching his reaction carefully, mimicking their conversation days prior. “What was your relationship with H2?”

“Professional, ma’am.”

“You knew her as Rey, is that correct?”

Ben swallowed thickly and nodded. “Only in private.”

“Did she seem or act strange recently? Maybe within the past month?”

“No. Ma'am, with all due respect, I don't think H2 has betrayed the agency. Why would she do that?”

“I'm trying to understand that myself, but as it stands, the facts do not lie. Before she left, she downloaded files on every active field officer, in training or otherwise, and took them with her on a supposed routine surveillance assignment. From FN-2187’s briefing, they split up, and she was conveniently still absent when Ziff was hit. I allow whatever interest you harbor for H2, because it has never influenced your work or behaviour. Until yesterday.”

Ben felt like laughing. “Can you blame me? You must understand the bond between officer and recruiter?”

“I do, and that is why I’m giving you the courtesy of informing you first. I’m issuing a burn notice against H2, effective immediately,” said O, looking unaffected by the news.

“What?” he squawked, “Isn’t that a bit extreme?”

“On the contrary, Q. An officer is dead and she is already five hours overdue. According to my sources, she never boarded the plane for D’Qar.”

“What about her tracking beacon?”

“It became disabled the moment she separated from FN-2187,” she supplied.

“But that just means she’s missing in action! Maybe she’s been captured?” Ben protested.

“And how do you propose we go about rescuing her, if she has been captured?” O asked, leaning forward against her desk. “The files she had with her were highly sensitive. It contained personal information, including aliases and real identities of my field officers. We have no officers available to even attempt this sort of assignment.”

“Field officer, you say?” Ben wondered, “Am I on those files?”

“Well, no, which that in itself is a blessing. I can’t afford to lose you after everything.”

It was odd thing to say, Ben tilting his head in slight confusion. He never thought himself as any more valuable than the standard field officer, let alone Rey.

Sensing Ben’s unease, O elaborated. “You are my Quartermaster. As mentioned earlier, not only do you supply The Resistance with new tech, but you also helped with the security systems. I can’t afford you to fall into the wrong hands.”

He hummed, understanding O’s logic. “So that’s it? You’re issuing the burn notice and abandoning Rey?” He vaguely realised H2’s name slipping from his lips, but Ben was too far gone to care. “Isn’t she your best field officer? Wasn’t she trained by The Smuggler? Isn’t she meant to be invaluable to you?” he snarled, voice now reaching high levels.

O merely glared at him coldly. “We are an intelligence agency, Q. There is no such thing as an invaluable officer. If we used our resources every time someone went missing or the like, then we would get no work done. You forget, we are not an independent agency. We rely on the New Republic for funding and we answer to them. The Senators have already reviewed what happened and came to the conclusion that a burn notice is necessary. Whatever circumstances led H2 down this path doesn’t dispute the fact that she has been compromised.”

“I’ll go,” Ben said suddenly, “I’m not on the database as an officer, they don’t even know about me. I can go undercover, like a field agent, and find out what happened to her.”

Without a pause, O said, “I forbid it. Have you not been listening, Q? You are invaluable to The Resistance.”

Ben glared at O and turned the tables on her. “I thought you said that there is no such thing as an invaluable officer.”

O pressed her lips together firmly and sat back in her seat. “You are not a field officer. You do not have the training to become a field officer. If you disobey my orders, you are committing treason to the New Republic and will be imprisoned. Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he gritted out between his teeth. He stood up swiftly, his large body shoving the edge of O’s desk, and made for the exit. He was keenly aware that O followed closely behind.

“You’re a good officer, Q,” she said when they reached her office door, pressing something into his hand. “Remember that.”

He nodded dumbly, fingers curling around the paper and shoving it into his pocket. He immediately strode to the amenities near his office and locked himself in a cubicle, flushing the toilet to muffle any sound as he uncurled the paper he was given.

 _Do not get caught. The Resistance is being watched. You’re on your own._ Kylo Ren.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i genuinely have no idea if this is beta-d so be aware...this has been sitting in my folders since like....idk september x_x might as well randomly post

Ben remained sitting inside the cubicle for another ten minutes, unsure what to do with the crumpled note in his hands. He had volunteered to somehow rescue Rey on impulse, assuming he would have the assistance of The Resistance if they had agreed, but to do everything under the radar? Ben was in over his head, and it only made him slump further on the toilet seat. He reached into his undershirt and pulled out something he kept close to his heart. Literally.

The circular pendant he held between his fingers was something Rey had given him, as a congratulations for passing his practical and entry exams for The Resistance. It was the first and only thing she had ever given him, and it did nothing but encourage the crush he continuously tried to stomp down. Even after five years of being colleagues, his heart still always seemed to race when she came into his office.

He thought back to fond memories with her. Rey always spent hours in his office after a mission, to the point it became a tradition. They would just lounge around for hours on end, until there was no one left in the building but security, and talk over greasy take out food. They were close, but there was no mistake: they were not in a relationship. It was all merely one sided, and that thought always brought him back to reality.

Like now.

With a sigh, he took out his phone and opened a blank note, lip between his teeth as he started to brainstorm his next move.

_Rey. Why? Where? Her apartment? Finn?_

The cursor blinked at him as he stared at the name he just typed out. Could he trust him? Surely as Rey’s partner, Finn would be more than eager to help find her. Thinking back, Ben tried to remember what their history was like. From what he remembered, they became field partners around the time he joined the agency, but Finn had already been a field agent for some years. Something he had noted when he first started was that both Rey and Finn were young, much younger than himself, and yet had a significant amount of experience in the field. Ben wasn’t sure how early anyone could be recruited to work at The Resistance; he assumed that it would have to be the legal employment age as allocated by The New Republic, but then again, they dabbled in espionage so who knew.

He unrolled the piece of paper, fingering the dampening paper between his thumb and forefinger, and contemplated over the words once more. _You’re on your own._ He couldn’t turn to Finn then, if O specifically wrote that down.

Sighing, Ben finally got up and pocketed his phone. First order of business would be to investigate Rey, meaning he would have to take a look at her computer. Trying to look as untroubled as possible, he sauntered through the halls towards her office, only to stop short at the red tape that stretched over her office entrance. There were few personnel milling around that Ben didn’t recognise personally, but their uniforms were clear enough: The New Republic Internal Investigation Unit. They were collecting and bagging various items, including Rey’s laptop and various documents that were on her desk.

One of the investigators caught sight of Ben and addressed him. “No access allowed, sir.”

Ben squinted at the name tag pinned on the man’s black suit uniform. “Mitaka, is it? I was just passing by. It’s quite a shock, you know, about H2,” he said, surveying the shorter man. His dark hair was slicked back that it only made his face more weasley.

“Agreed, sir. The Senate does not take such transgressions lightly, so this case must be dealt with swiftly. What was your relationship with the mole?”

Ben thanked the stars that one of his hands were buried in his trouser pockets or he just might have grabbed Mitaka by the scruff of the neck and punched him for insulting Rey. Alas, his long fingers curled around his phone and gripped it tightly, anchoring his simmering anger lest he lashed out. “Colleagues. I’m the Quartermaster, so I see every officer here at The Resistance one time or another.”

“Quartermaster, you say? Thank you, Q. I’ll know where to find you if I have any further questions,” Mitaka sniffed with his nose turned upwards and turned away without so much of a dismissal.

Mitaka’s rudeness grated on Ben’s nerves, causing him to throw a sneer in the investigator’s direction before returning to his office. He felt on edge and out of place, as if he were the one who had committed treason. He might as well have, he thought, tapping away at his computer whilst throwing glances at anyone who walked past his office. One of the perks of being the Quartermaster was that he had complete access to The Resistance’s network. Untraced.

He kept the security footage of Rey’s office playing in the corner of his screen as he logged into The Resistance network in incognito mode. Mitaka and his investigators looked like they were still in the thick of their work, bagging and documenting every bit of Rey’s office, including Rey’s laptop. Ben scowled and hoped that Rey had the common sense to not keep whatever agenda she was planning on her work laptop. Nevertheless, Ben downloaded all her files from the network onto his flashdrive, noting that true to O’s words, Rey had downloaded The Resistance’s files a few days ago. Or at least, someone with Rey’s account had. If she was the mole, then she had taken all training timetables and field agent personnel data, including Ziff’s old dead drop schedule before it was changed.

With Mitaka and his agents still busy rummaging through Rey’s office, Ben grabbed his coat and quickly left his office. He didn’t encounter anyone in the halls, probably because they were still in the mess hall, reeling from Ziff’s death, so he was able to slip off base without being noticed.

-

It had been six years since his induction training, but from observing H2 and FN-2187, along with his late night talks with Rey, Ben knew enough to successfully pull off basic surveillance. With investigators swarming the office, it was only a matter of time before someone would check out Rey’s apartment. Whether it would be someone from the Internal Investigation Unit, or whoever everyone thought Rey was supposedly working for, he could only wait and see.

He didn’t have a van or a nondescript car from which to observe, so the next best thing was in the form of a orange and grey jumpsuit and scratchy blond wig. He swapped his normal frames for overly large glasses, completing the look of a maintenance technician. Perched high up on a telephone post and looking like he was tinkering away at some wires, Ben was surprised he didn’t have to wait long before a black unmarked car pulled up to Rey’s apartment. A single man dressed in a black suit and sunglasses got out of the car and walked into Rey’s apartment complex without so much of a glance around.

Ben wasn’t the Quartermaster for nothing. From behind the post, he blinked twice and his glasses zoomed in on a window that faced the street. He watched the man move up the stairs and into Rey’s apartment, snapping on a pair of gloves as he did so. Ben became even more confused when the man didn’t need to pick the lock or break into her apartment, merely unlocking the door with a key. If it wasn’t already clear that the man was a professional from his clothes and car, then the way he sweeped her apartment, making sure that nothing was disturbed, was evident enough. He was looking for something, something that Rey seemed to have.

After minutes of searching and coming up empty, the man took out his phone and called someone, spending no more than a few seconds in conversation before hanging up. Whoever the man was knew where and what Rey was doing. When the man left her apartment and started towards the complex exit, Ben quickly climbed down the telephone post, making sure to look casual and not make eye contact with the man. He hid behind a car across the road and peeked around the bonnet. He had to follow the car somehow, but how?

Time was running out and the man was going to get away, but before he could do anything, another car turned the corner. The sound of tires screeching made the man act faster, hastily getting into his car and speeding down the street. The new car raced after him, leaving Ben standing on the sidewalk, mind reeling from what he just saw. What the hell was going on?

Seeing there was nothing to lose, Ben quickly stalked across the road towards Rey’s apartment. A long time ago, she had given him her spare key, telling him to water her plants if she was gone for more than a week. It only happened a few times, nowhere near frequent enough to feel comfortable inside her apartment. No matter how many time she reassured him, he still felt like an intruder inside her home. The way her scent seemed to waft around him the moment he stepped inside, causing shivers to run up his spine, didn’t help matters either.

From what he saw through the window, the man was looking for something small enough to hide in drawers. Ben tapped his finger against his chin and got lost in thought of what it could be that the man was trying to find, that he only had a split second to react to the sound of a key turning in the door. He didn’t have a gun with him, not thinking that it was necessary, but then again, he was still new to the whole ‘undercover spy’ and didn’t know what to take with him. Not sure of what else to do, he braced himself and got ready to charge at the intruder.

And that was how Finn found him.

Finn’s head snapped to the side when Ben’s punch connected, grunting in anger as he threw himself at his assailant. The pair smashed into Rey’s coffee table, knocking over the plants Ben had once promised to take care of. They tumbled to the floor and only when Finn was about to knock his attack over the head with a vase did he stop and _really_ look at who was under him.

“Q?” he stuttered, sitting back on his feet to survey the Quartermaster. “What are you doing here?!”

“I could ask you the same thing! Get off me!” Ben slapped the man off him, quickly adjusting his glasses and wig, as if it could maintain his cover.

Finn squinted at the badge pinned to Ben’s orange vest. “Matt? Where did you even get that outfit from?”

Ben sighed and crawled onto the couch, careful to keep the glass shards from spreading. “A few Halloweens ago, but that doesn’t matter. What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to check Rey’s place before that asshole Mitaka got here. They were still in Rey’s office when I left. How long have you been here?”

“Long enough to see some guy in a suit search her apartment. Wait, so you don’t think Rey betrayed us?”

Finn shook his head. “I’ve been her partner long enough to know something isn’t right. I saw the man you mentioned, by the way, when I got here.”

“You were the second car?”

“Yeah, and I tried to follow him but he got away.” Finn caught a glimpse of the road outside and swore. “We’ve got company. Mitaka might have sent someone to look over her apartment, or it’s someone else. Either way, we got to get out of here.”

Grabbing Ben by the arm, Finn pulled him towards the fire escape and together, they slipped out before anyone caught sight of them. It wasn’t until they were in the safety of Finn’s car around the block that Ben ripped off his wig. “You don’t think Rey is a double agent?” he asked again as he ruffled his flattened wig hair.

Finn shook his head as he started the car. “No way. There’s too many questions and everything is falling into place a little too neatly for my liking. The way Rey and I just happened to be separated? Or that the targets on our mission already knew we were coming?”

“That points more towards Rey betraying us than anything,” Ben pointed out as he took off his orange vest.

“The thing that tipped me off was the burn notice issued against her and how O took all this. I’ve known O since I was a kid, she was the one who took me in and saved me from Arkanis.”

“Arkanis?” Ben asked incredulously. “You were from Arkanis?”

“Yeah,” Finn said bitterly. “I was, when it was still around. O was personally saved me before it was vaporised.”

“What?” Ben hissed in disbelief. “The report said the attack was unexpected. Hell, we still don’t even know who was behind it.”

“O had a hunch and acted upon it.”

Ben’s mind was being overloaded with new information. Arkanis was nasty business, a country that was rumored to be stealing children from as young as five from other countries, training them to become ruthless soldiers. Due to international laws that prohibited foreigners from entering the country, Arkanis’ illegal activities went undetected for years until The Resistance was able to tie a burnt down village to the Arkanis government, giving them enough evidence and reason to visit the country. However when The Resistance agents were still en route, the Arkanis government tried to hide the evidence by shutting down the training facilities, but someone had other plans. A bomb was dropped on the country, destroying everyone and everything, including all evidence of training facilities and making it impossible to find out more about the Arkanis government. Twenty-five years had passed since the incident and it was still one of the first reports for new recruits to study up on.

While Ben was still lost in his thoughts, Finn continued. “I trust O with my life, I’ve known her for years and I saw how close Rey and O were. I saw how O looked when she announced the burn notice to everyone. She wasn’t happy, but she was resigned to it. To everyone else, it looked like she was completely okay with it, but not to me. I mean, I knew how close O and The Smuggler were too. They hid it well, but you can’t hide from family.”

“Wait, what? O and The Smuggler?” Ben asked as he swapped his large frames for his usual pair.

“Yeah, The Smuggler would always linger in O’s office after briefings and when he returned from missions. Kind of like what you and Rey do,” Finn commented, throwing him an amused look when Ben became flustered.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he stammered.

Finn chuckled. “Of course you don’t.”

“I only see Rey as a friend and colleague,” Ben argued.

“Sure,” Finn said, clucking his tongue. “So, you don’t think Rey is a mole?”

“No, I don’t, and I sure as hell not going to let Mitaka crucify her,” Ben said, fishing a piece of paper from his pocket. “O gave this to me this morning.”

Finn pulled over in an isolated alleyway and took a look at the paper. “Do not get caught. The Resistance is being watched. You’re on your own. Kylo Ren,” he read out. “Who’s Kylo Ren?”

Ben shrugged. “I don’t know, but she must have her hands tied if she had to slip it to me. Like you said, the whole situation seems too neat. It’s like they’re framing Rey for something.”

“You think she’s in trouble. Okay, and no offence Q, but why didn’t O come to me? You’re not exactly...field trained.”

“You’re her partner. You’re going to be under a lot of scrutiny, if not already. Like you said, I have no field training so they probably wouldn’t expect me to do anything. Hell, you probably thought you were seeing things when you saw me in Rey’s apartment!”

Finn chuckled and tilted his head in agreement. “It was quite a shock to see such a hideous wig on you.”

Ben glossed over his comment with a wave of his hand. “It did the job. Anyways, best to continue this discussion after work. You still remember where I live?”

Finn started the car again and drove out of the alleyway, back to base. “Yeah, I do. Hopefully no one has noticed we’ve been gone. That is something I _really_ do not want to answer.”

 


End file.
